Keep running, it gets better!

I did four miles today and fought for every bit of it.  Last week I pushed myself really hard,  I had a couple days I thought I would just collapse from exhaustion.  Sometimes it is hard to find the balance of pushing yourself in training, putting a demand on your energy and endurance when you still have to function physically in your "real life".

What do you do when you've pushed yourself to run four miles and add on an extra mile to walk and cool down and then go home to remember your have people coming over and your house needs a total vacuum and tiled flooring needs mopped??   You do it and feel it for several days to come!   Life and training sometime overlap.

So with all that in my last week I decided to add a two day rest period with no cross training and pure nothingness to the point of laziness.   Sometimes I view resting just as hard as running.   I get so determined and so set on pushing myself I feel like the rest day is a waste and I'm losing opportunity to get to a new level.  I have to remind myself that when my body demands rest, I have to give it.  I have to tell myself that I am actually building and advancing while I'm resting.

"they that wait on the Lord will renew their strength...they shall mount up with wings as eagles...they shall run and not be weary....they shall walk and not faint..."

So here I was today back out there and wondering how my body was going to respond to it's vacation.  I had felt good when I woke up this morning and thought several times that was a great sign that perhaps my muscles were restored and better than ever.  I got my app all set to track my time, distance and pace and started with a short 5 minute walk.   At the end of 5 minutes I heard the app generated voice in my earbuds say "JOG" and I obeyed.  About 30 seconds in I was surprised at my body's response.  It yelled quite clearly, "you'll be lucky to make one mile, wah wah wah".   

For one mile I pushed myself.   My left knee was stiff, my right knee was clicking, the back of my calves were already tightening and even my left shoulder was aching.  I felt old and I felt pathetic when the 60+ year old man who started after me passed me at the one mile marker like I was standing still.  At that point my competitive nature gave my flesh a stern scolding.  I told my whining body we were going to two miles whether it was running, walking, crawling or summer-saucing to the mile marker.  (The latter two are probably the more painful if you think about it!) 

My mental focus was also very scattered.  I had been filling my mind with articles about Aspartame and Splenda toxins the last few days, identifying some of my thyroid symptoms that are linked to the overload of these products in my system.  With every weak whine from my body I was calculating the level of toxicity I probably have that was causing my low performance.  I had to shake that off and focus.   

Then something magical happened.  As I rounded the corner ending mile two marker starting mile three, the fact I had indeed survived two miles overshadowed all the cries of my whining body.  In fact, my body shut up - not down - but up.  The truth is the last two miles were easier than the first two.   My theory is that my body in the first mile is "cold" and not warmed up so it whines.  That's important to identify because if I listen to the whining and quit then I don't get to the good part of running and I stay discouraged.  A lot of people never really run or enjoy running because they never get to the "magical moment" where it's fun.

 By the time I get to mile three, I have corrected my posture and my footing so my calves, shins and knees aren't under pressure of the run.  My heart rate, breathing and cadence of my arms and gate are all in sych together.  My lungs have full capacity and have expanded to give me good oxygen to my whole body making all my limbs happy campers.  My mental state is soaring because of my oxygen supply. At that point I can choose to put my focus where I want, which for me in in my core and small arm movement and my gaze about 3 feet in front of me causing the time and distance to be less distracting.  Before I knew it I was finishing my four mile run and rehydrating in a cool down walk and stretch and really excited that I survived the process and learned from it.

Running requires endurance.  Running requires a joy that's before you that causes you to endure the aches, pains, sluggishness and discouragement of the moment just to get to that place that you know if going to be better and worth it.

The Word of God that Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before him.  I love Israel Houghton's song, "You've Won My Affection".   It says, "you went the distance and you finished strong, we were your passion, so you gave your all."  He knew it was gonna get better.  He knew after death was resurrection.

Running is a great application of those truths.  I find running a very very spiritually motivating process with many lessons that mimic our spiritual journey.  

1 Cor. 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.

Hebrews 12:1  Since we are surrounded by so many examples [of faith], we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially sin that distracts us. We must run the race that lies ahead of us and never give up.

You can take a run anywhere!

You can take running anywhere.  If you look around - outside is everywhere!   If you can't find a treadmill, you can find some grass or asphalt to tread on!

Visiting my family for Easter weekend I decided to run my old neighborhood.  I was quite aware of the potential nostalgia of this run.  My parents have lived in the same home for almost 50 years, thus this is the home I was raised in all my life until I got married.

I decided to run the "back-way" out of the subdivision towards the "new" Seven Eleven. (This is what we called this particular Seven Eleven because on the front end of the subdivision is the "old" Seven Eleven.  Both are over 30 years old now!) It is a one mile trek to the "new" Seven Eleven and when I was a child I had to have favored permission to go there on my bike and usually it was an exhilarating trip if I was allowed to go.  I always felt like it was dangerous venturing "out of" the subdivision by myself.  I got to say I felt empowered to be just running there as an adult.  It's crazy, the paradoxes of childhood/adulthood re-do's.

Running that day was no problem as my mind was occupied with recognition memories.  First was the Prinkey's house where I had Brownie Troop.  I hated Brownies.  I knew no one in my troop and there were thirteen girls and everyone had their best friend so I was always odd-man out.   That troop was the nesting ground of all my insecurities I would fight for many decades to come!  Then Marla's house, my only church friend in the neighborhood and I spent the night many times in that house.  I once was riding a miniature motorcycle and ran it into the side of her dad's car because I didn't know how to shift or break and that was the only way I could stop!  He had to pry it out from under his tire wheel.- good times!

The next to the last house before the Seven Eleven was a girl's house that I knew in Middle School.  The only personal contact I had with her was in band class when she showed me her rolled up pot and offered to give me one free to try.  Just looking at them made me feel guilty and I thought in my head there was no way I would even just try it with my magnetism to getting caught in the least of infractions.  Immediately I referenced getting nailed for shooting a lima bean with my spork in fourth grade lunch and sentenced to silent lunches for a week.   Fourth grade taught me there was NO WAY I would risk trying it!

I ran to the Seven Eleven making my loop back toward home feeling energized and toyed with the thought of continuing toward my Elementary School but reconsidered to save it for another time thinking that run alone would make an awesome separate blog!   I had another goal - go by my best friend's Nancy's house which would be at the end of mile two.  I hadn't been by her house in over 20 years and I was trying to recall the cut through street all the way there.  I found the street and spent the mile thinking about my time with Nancy.

Nancy had the same birthday as I did and we had a couple combined parties at her house.  Her house at the time had the largest residential pool in Orlando and it was featured in the Orlando Sentinel.  Her family was orginally from New York and were the wealthiest people I knew personally.  They had a huge Lincoln Continental that always had Frank Sinatra playing.  I rarely saw her dad but her mom was fascinating to me.  She was the only woman who proudly flaunted her nose job and I recalled her wearing her bandage for weeks after her surgery.  I spent the night A LOT at Nancy's house and we shared a love for singing, music and Barry Manilow.

When I reached Nancy's house I saw it was vacant and for sale.  The large front window was open for viewing in and I took a long look through the living room (where her brother eventually killed himself and the family moved shortly after), peering into the kitchen with a glimpse of the pool porch where we spent so many summer days.  I thought I could hear Barry Manilow singing "Even Now".  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX4xIgb_oMw&feature=fvst

I set off for my home street into my third mile and as I passed my house decided to push a powerful sprint all the way to "Gail-Gail's" house for old time's sake.  I thought briefly about taking off my shoes and socks and smacking my feet on the asphalt all the way there but didn't want to break my focus!